NBAE / Getty Images New Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown talks with members of the media.

(On being a salesman as well as a coach)
I’ll do anything that they need me to do but I’m a coach. That’s what I do best. If we have a good team and (fans) are proud of the way they play, I think they’ll come out. They love basketball in this state with the ACC and the other college programs, like Davidson down the road. If you play the right way and they know you’re giving an honest effort and you’re making progress, they’ll come. I’ll do anything they ask. I’m going to be engaged in the community and I love North Carolina. I’m going to be involved but I’m a coach and that’s what I love to do.

(On the excitement of coming back to North Carolina to coach in the NBA after having coached the ABA’s Carolina Cougars in the 1970s)
It’s great. I’m glad we won’t travel as much. (In the ABA,) we had 20 games in Greensboro, eight in Raleigh and the rest in Charlotte, so that was a lot of road games. I just love being in this environment because I know how important basketball is to the people of this state. I know (the Hornets) led the league in attendance every year. They have a lot of great basketball fans here. Now we have to put a team out on the floor that they want to come watch and I’m looking forward to that.

(On the strengths and weaknesses of the Bobcats)
Hopefully we’re going to have a great draft pick or two. It seems to me the draft is getting deeper every day with all these kids talking about coming out. I think Michael (Jordan) told me, our challenge is to make the players we have better. We have a lot of young players that I like and think have a chance to improve.

(On Raymond Felton’s position)
He’s a point guard. I think he’ll do anything you ask him to do. I look at shooting guard with Matt (Carroll) and Jason (Richardson) as a pretty good position right there. Jared (Dudley) can also play there a little, I think. If you look around this league, the teams that are successful have great point guards that can push the ball up the court and defend pick-and-roll and are athletic and tough. I think Raymond (Felton) can do all of that. Michael (Jordan) talked to me about that, that’s a big challenge but I really believe he has the ability to be a great one.

(On if he has talked to any of the players yet)
I saw Sean (May), Matt (Carroll) and Adam (Morrison) when I walked in. Hopefully I am going to have the opportunity before I go back home to talk with them and spend some time with them.

(On Emeka Okafor)
He’s a great athlete, but he’s a better kid. He has a thirst to learn. He’ll do anything you’ll ask. I think players like that are so hard to come by. He’s got a huge upside. I don’t think he’s even come close to what he can be. Anybody with athleticism and the character he has has a chance to get better.

(On Okafor’s position)
Our game is changing so much. Sometimes there is no true center and then all of a sudden Phoenix goes and gets Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) because they think they need a true center. I like guys that can play more than one position because it gives you more depth. I think he’s athletic enough to guard power forwards and strong enough to guard centers. I think you win with defense, shot blocking and rebounding and those are three things he’s pretty good at.

(On if he’s a better coach now that when he began in 1972)
I hope I’m better. I’ve learned so much. I’ve been around this game. A lot of things have changed. Basically it’s all about being unselfish, playing hard and trying to rebound and defend and sharing the ball. I hope I’m a better coach now than in 1972.

(On his experience in New York)
Again, I don’t look it as a bad experience. I was a bad coach. I did a bad job. I learned from that. But being out of it for the last two years, even though I had a title in Philly and Billy King and Mo Cheeks really engaged me, I just missed it. I missed being around the game. I love it. I want to be part of it for as long as I can and as long as I feel like I’m contributing. I still think I have something to offer.

(On his family support)
We were close to taking this college job last week, but it would have meant moving cross-country and taking our family out of school, but when Michael called, she (Shelly, his wife) said this is where you belong. She was behind it 100 percent. I’m pretty lucky.

(On what type of product he hopes to put on the floor)
Until my last job, I thought every night we went out and played harder or as hard as our opponent. We tried to defend and share the ball. I think that’s always been a staple of all the teams I’ve been involved with. I would hope that would be evident to everybody here that we will play hard, we will play together and we will try to guard. I’m hopeful also that they will see improvement with the younger players because we have such a responsibility to teach them and give them the opportunity.

(On how far away the Bobcats are from making the playoffs)
I don’t know. Things change so quickly in our league with the draft and trades. I don’t think anybody expected Jason Kidd to be going to Dallas and Shaq to be going to Phoenix and (Pau) Gasol going to the Lakers. Even though those teams were good, it changed the dynamics of our league. With free agency things change, but I look at how quickly Philly got there. Mo did a phenomenal job. Billy King and Ed Stefanski have gotten young players that have gotten better. I hope that we can do that with our guys and if we can do that, anything can happen.

(On if he will coach here all four years)
I hope I will coach longer than that, but I want to get through the first practice.

(On taking responsibility for the teams’ success)
On the great teams, everybody is held accountable and takes responsibility. All the teams I have been involved with, that’s been the case. You can’t be successful on this level if you have a bunch of individuals out there. As a team, everybody has to be accountable and everybody has to want to make their teammates better. I think we’ll get that across. I think these kids are willing to do that.

(On if toughness and character is more important than ability)
Night in and night out, if you get kids with toughness and character, you have a chance to win. We might not win the championship, but you’re going to get close and you have something to build on.

(On Michael Jordan’s involvement)
He’s fully engaged. You might not see him all the time. I told Michael, I’m not coming here unless I know you’re fully committed. You know how competitive he is. He wants to win. I can get to him at anytime and he’s surrounded himself with people I really respect and like. I go way back with Rod (Higgins), Buzz (Peterson) and Fred (Whitfield). We have people I believe in and I know Michael is going to be fully engaged.